Keep track of Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers are tied 3-3 in a winner-take-all situation.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (68-14), the top seed in the Western Conference, and the No. 4 Eastern Conference seed Indiana Pacers (50-32) enter Game 7 at Oklahoma tied, 3-3, with all the marbles on the line.
Obviously, the winner will be crowned 2025 NBA champion. This is the first Game 7 NBA Finals Game since 2016.
FINAL: Pacers, Thunder
4th Quarter: Pacers, Thunder
2:24 – Turnovers continued to plague the Pacers, helping the Thunder to maintain a double-figure lead. Holmgren split a pair of free throws, then flushed down a transition dunk. Indiana was trading scoring possessions instead of getting stops down the stretch.
4:47 – Led by Mathurin scoring seven consecutive points amid an 11-1 run, the Pacers cut the Thunder’s lead to 91-79 entering a timeout. However, time was running out late in the game.
7:28 – It wasn’t until Siakam knocked down a mid-range jumper after a jab step that Indiana got on the board in the fourth quarter.
8:28 – Oklahoma City’s defense continued to completely stifle the Pacers, who hadn’t scored in the period entering a timeout with 8:27 left in regulation. After Holmgren swatted away a finish attempt by Nesmith, Williams cashed in from 3-point range to force another Pacers timeout. The Thunder continued their 19-2 run that carried over from the third quarter, leading 89-68.
11:22 – Gilgeous-Alexander continued the Thunder’s momentum with a step-back 3-pointer, pushing the lead to 84-68. He had already accumulated 25 points and 10 assists at this point.
3rd Quarter: Thunder 81, Pacers 68
29.0 – After a pair of empty possessions for the Pacers, the momentum was all in Oklahoma City’s favor. A missed pull-up jumper from Gilgeous-Alexander led to a putback finish for Hartenstein. Caruso then blocked Siakam’s shot late in the shot clock. Oklahoma City set a new game-high lead (13) before the third quarter ended, ending a 34-20 period. The Thunder outscored Indiana 18-0 in points off turnovers, specifically in the third quarter.
1:27 – The Thunder continued to have an answer for the Pacers. McConnell made a short-range pull-up jumper, but Williams responded the next trip down the floor with a 17-foot step-back. Oklahoma City regained an 11-point lead (79-68).
2:02 – Williams finished at the rim to put the Thunder up 77-66, the largest lead of the game. Indiana burned another timeout after failing to regain control of the game. Oklahoma City held a staggering 22-point advantage in points off turnovers.
2:20 – The disorganization for the Pacers continued, leading to a five-second violation.
2:42 – A pair of turnovers caused by trapping Toppin losing it out-of-bounds and the Thunder trapping McConnell created a few easy scoring chances for Oklahoma City. Wallace knocked down a 3-pointer and later finished at the rim—both assisted by Hartenstein—to put Oklahoma City back up by a nine-point margin (75-66).
3:54 – The momentum continued for McConnell. He made a short-range pull-up jumper, which marked 10 consecutive points scored by him. He already scored 14 points in the third quarter at this point, but an inability to get timely defensive stops once again stifled Indiana’s rally.
4:41- McConnell tightened up by attacking downhill, looking for shots in the paint. He scored on four consecutive drives, but the Thunder continued to have answers on the other end, preventing Indiana from using these scoring sequences to create a run. Gilgeous-Alexander was generating rim pressure of his own, finishing one himself and finding Holmgren for a dunk. Indiana trailed 69-64 despite McConnell’s impact.
7:13 – The game is beginning to slip away for the Pacers. Now, Oklahoma City is on a 9-0 run, resulting in another timeout called by Carlisle. This sequence included a barrage of 3-pointers, with a step-back from Gilgeous-Alexander starting it off. A few turnovers by McConnell led to Holmgren and Williams getting clean perimeter jumpers.
9:20 – The Pacers called a timeout after the Thunder jumped out with a 9-3 run coming out of halftime. A tip shot by Caruso after his own missed layup, and ultimately a steal leading to a breakaway transition finish for Williams, was enough for Carlisle to call a timeout.
10:30 – Holmgren cleaned up a missed 3-pointer by Gilgeous-Alexander for a putback to kickstart some momentum for Oklahoma City. A turnover by Nembhard created a chance for the Thunder to take advantage. Gilgeous-Alexander nearly carried but found Dort, who threw up a high-arching side-step 3-pointer and made it. Siakam answered with a make of his own to cut it to one (52-51).
12:00 – Oklahoma City made a lineup change to begin the second half by swapping out Hartenstein for Caruso.
Halftime: Pacers, Thunder
Analysis: The Pacers deserve a lot of credit for managing to hold a halftime lead despite Haliburton going down with a significant injury. Indiana’s hot perimeter shooting—going 8-of-16 (50%)—played an important role, along with outscoring the Thunder 9-to-5 in points off turnovers. Siakam was the first Indiana player to reach double figures (10 points), while Nembhard and Haliburton each had nine, and Mathurin scored eight. Points were left on the board from the free throw line by shooting 61.5% as a team, in addition to going 8-of-22 from inside the arc.
For the Thunder, Gilgeous-Alexander was getting his own with 16 points while still finding his teammates for seven assists, while each Thunder starter had five points. Oklahoma City shot poorly across the board with 40.5/22.2/69.2 shooting splits, but the team did effectively contain turnovers (four) and held a 20-to-12 edge for points in the paint.
2nd Quarter: Pacers 48, Thunder 47
3.6 – The Pacers walked into halftime with a 48-47 advantage after Nembhard exploited drawing Holmgren on a switch to get into a step-back 3-pointer. This was the tenth lead change of what was a tight first half in which no team led by more than five points.
39.2 – Hartenstein stifled the Pacers’ momentum by patiently finishing in the paint while drawing a foul. His free throw completed an and-one sequence, tying it up at 45-45.
1:28 – Pacers go up 45-42 on a sequence that included a contested Mathurin 3-pointer and two made free throws for Siakam to continue what was a 9-2 run.
3:53 – Between a Turner elbow jumper and McConnell shooting over the top of a contest in short-range, the Pacers managed to tie it again, 40-40.
6:46 – Oklahoma City took a five-point lead (37-32) after Gilgeous-Alexander got into the gap in mid-range again and used a step-back to clear some space before making a jumper. Wallace stepped into a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer in transition to keep the momentum going.
7:46 – Indiana continued to fight, tying it up 32-32 after Aaron Nesmith sank a 3-pointer.
Injury Update – The Pacers officially announced that Haliburton was ruled out for the rest of the game with a lower leg injury.
10:21 – Kicked off by McConnell dishing it to Mathurin for a perimeter jumper, the Pacers managed to take a brief lead (26-25) after Siakam split two free throws.
1st Quarter: Thunder 25, Pacers 22
22.2 – A strong close to the quarter set up a 25-22 lead for Oklahoma City. Williams attacked the rim for a finger-roll to kickstart this stretch. Cason Wallace’s steal after McConnell lost the ball ultimately led to a trip to the free throw line for Holmgren, who split both free throws.
34.2 – Indiana kept chipping away. Siakam converted from mid-range after a pass from McConnell. A pair of empty possessions for the Thunder left the door open for the Pacers to tie it up (22-22) after Mathurin cleaned up his own miss at the rim.
2:48 – Oklahoma City’s hustle on the boards paid off. An offensive rebound by Kenrich Williams after a missed 3-pointer by Caruso led to a short-range pull-up for Gilgeous-Alexander. A quick defensive stop for the Thunder led to Holmgren getting a floater off a find from the MVP, pushing to a 4-0 run to go up 22-18.
4:55 – A devastating development for the Pacers occurred. Haliburton tried to use a shot fake to set up a drive, but lost the ball as he dropped to the floor in significant pain. The Thunder took advantage with a transition dunk for Williams on a leak-out, taking an 18-16 lead. Indiana’s whole squad was huddled around Haliburton. T.J. McConnell checked into the game in Haliburton’s place as the All-Star guard had a towel over his head during an emotional trip to the locker room.
5:48 – Indiana was living with Alex Caruso, having space from beyond the arc, and was made to pay for trying to shrink the floor with back-to-back 3-pointers. Oklahoma City took a brief lead, but Nembhard tied it up (16-16) after driving the lane and drawing a foul, creating a pair of free throws.
7:01- Back-to-back 3-pointers for Haliburton gave Indiana an 11-6 edge. He was feeling it, including a deep heat check pull-up. He didn’t quite make it three in a row with a missed pull-up, but he got it back after an offensive rebound by Bennedict Mathurin to make the Thunder defense pay. Indiana was up 14-10 going into a timeout. Haliburton already had nine points.
8:58 – Gilgeous-Alexander knocked down back-to-back mid-range jumpers to keep Oklahoma City steady. A block against Haliburton at the rim set up a quick post-up for Chet Holmgren, leading to a turnaround jumper.
10:45 – With Haliburton drawing full-court pressure to start the game, his teammates made plays early to take a quick 5-2 lead. Nembhard started them off with a mid-range pull-up, then found Siakam on a spray-out for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.
Pregame
Tyrese Haliburton is going to play in the biggest game of his life. OKC wasn’t able to exploit him on defense in Game 6. Bench play was key in Game 6 but how big of a factor will it be in Sunday’s Game 7 when there is no next game?
Starting Lineups
THUNDER: Luguentz Dort, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Isaiah Hartenstein, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams
PACERS: Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner
Injuries
THUNDER: Nikola Topic (Out, left knee)
PACERS: Tyrese Haliburton (questionable, calf), Isaiah Jackson (Out, Achilles tendon), Jarace Walker (Out, Ankle)
Line: OKC -6.5
O/U: 214.5
Officials: Crew Chief James Capers, Refree Josh Tiven, Umpire Sean Wright (alternate: James Williams)
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